Attorney General Nessel Takes Action to Enforce Court Order Stopping Trump Administration’s Illegal Disruptions of Federal Funding

LANSING – On Friday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel joined a coalition of 22 other attorneys general in filing a second motion for enforcement (PDF) in their ongoing lawsuit against the Trump Administration’s illegal and destructive disruptions to federal funding. Despite multiple court orders, the administration has continued to block hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to the states from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), including approximately $30 million to the State of Michigan. This funding disruption threatens critical emergency preparedness and recovery programs to address cybersecurity, emergency management, public health emergencies, and law enforcement.

“What we are witnessing is a clear violation of the multiple court orders that ensure Americans receive the federal funding they rely on, including FEMA grants that provide critical disaster relief and recovery support,” Nessel said. “My colleagues and I fought to secure these orders and their enforcement, and yet here we are once again, forced to take further action to protect Michiganders and uphold the rule of law. Temporary restraining orders aren’t just suggestions; they are legally binding orders, fundamental to our legal system. No one, not even President Trump, is above them.” 

Attorney General Nessel and the coalition sued the administration over the freeze on January 28. On January 31, the court granted the attorneys general’s request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) blocking the freeze’s implementation until further order from the court. On February 7, the coalition filed motions for enforcement and a preliminary injunction to stop the illegal freeze until the case resolves and preserve federal funding that families, communities, and states rely on. On February 8, the court granted that first motion for enforcement, ordering the administration to immediately comply with the TRO and stop freezing federal funds.

Despite the TRO, Attorney General Nessel and the coalition have found that the administration continues to withhold essential funding, and that states, grantees, and programs are continuing to experience a significant lack of access to funds, putting lives and jobs at risk. The funding that remains frozen includes hundreds of millions of dollars in FEMA grants to essential state programs that are responsible for wildfire prevention response, cybersecurity, flood mitigation, and emergency management. 

Attorney General Nessel and the coalition’s second motion for enforcement, filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, seeks a court order to require the release of funds if the Trump administration is unable to provide evidence that they have been unfrozen.

Joining Michigan in the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

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